Hello everyone!
I had an old account on here that I can no longer access so I had to go ahead and make a new one. My only post on my previous account was reaching out to see if anyone knew of any GT160s for sale and that was back in 2016 I believe. Anyways, years later now, I was finally able to find one close enough to me and worth the drive. I found it in Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Since then, I've been busy with life and had stored it and kept it dry until I could finally get to starting the restoration. Well the time has come where I'm wanting to start in on this huge project.
I was hoping to get some advice from all of the knowledgeable members here in the Glastron community on where to start with this as it has some pretty serious (to me anyways) damage at the transom and splashwell from the tower of power puncturing holes through the gel and transom and cracking the splash well.
I have most of the interior stripped out. Just have to remove the MerControl unit to remove the upper side padding and then I'll get to the dash.
I see most people tend to split the hull in order to do the restoration properly, which I agree with. However, before doing so, I am wondering if anyone has had a similar restoration as to what I am up against. Would you guys tackle the splash well first before splitting the hull? Or would it be best to just split the hull and work on the transom, floor, and stringers first then deal with the splash well after the fact? I am worried about everything fitting back together and tightly so there's no gap between the mold of the splashwell and the wood of the transom as it would just end up cracking again once the outboard is clamped and bolted back on.
Also, seeing as the outboard bracket punctured holes through the outer skin, it also seemed to have pulled the outer skin from the holes up to the lip in an outwards (aft) direction. Would that all get corrected once the new marine plywood is in? As bad as the outer skin is I've been told to not cut it out and work with it in place and then once the transom is replaced I can refinish the outside (Holes, stress cracks, blistering...)
I've attached some pictures to see what I am up against. I have been told to not even bother and to take it out in the lake and sink it. However, a greater number of people have told me its a great candidate for restoration. I am hoping that is the case. I know it will be a lot of time and money but the time I'm not so concerned about and it would be a boat I would keep for the rest of my life and pass down in the family so to me it is worth it. I am also doing it to gain more knowledge and skill with fiberglass work and boat building.
Sorry for the long post but if you guys managed to get through it, I appreciate you taking the time to do so and hopefully I hear back from everyone on some tips and guidance as to where to go from here.
Thanks everyone!
Nick